Shelf and front panel bracket combination



March 17, 1953 s 2,631,808

SHELF AND FRONT PANEL. BRACKET COMBINATION Filed Jan. 14, 1950 I 29 I I I I 1" I] 4 7 2 W1" W in g T 26 52 4a 4 6 li u J2 P L Patented Mar. 17, 1953 SHELF AND FRONT PANEL BRACKET COMBINATION Joseph Isaac, Chicago, 1ll., assignor to Irving Davis Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application January 14, 1950, Serial No. 138,645

6 Claims. 1

My invention relates to a front panel assembly for showcases and more particularly to a bracket construction therefor.

In showcases of the type frequently seen in theaters and similar places in which candies, gum, etc., are displayed, the shallowness of the shelves limits materially the amount of stock which can be stacked and displayed therein. Thus, in the usual arrangement wherein a horizontal shelf open at the front end is employed, the stack of commodities must be sloped down toward the open front of the shelf to prevent their falling over the edge, and also, as candy bars, for example, are withdrawn for sale from the stack on the shelves, the attendant jostling of the stack can cause it to slip and fall over the open shelf edge. This inherent limitation of open shelves prohibits a rectangular stacking of the stock which is of great assistance in taking inventory.

One object of my invention, therefore, lies in providing a vertical front panel for the open front of such shelves whereby the amount of stock which may be stacked on a shelf of given width is greatly increased and may be stably arranged in rectangular stacks.

Another object of my invention is to provide a bracket whereby a glass panel may be mounted vertically at the front of a horizontal shelf to serve the above-mentioned retaining function and at the same time permit a clear view of the contents of the shelf.

Still another object of my invention is the provision of bracket means for mounting such a glass panel vertically on the front of such a shelf which may be easily and inexpensively fabricated.

Still another object of my invention is to pro-- vide a bracket for mounting such a panel which may be employed with the supports conventionally used in such showcases upon which the shelves are mounted.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from th following description and drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 represents a sectional view of the combination embodying my invention which may be considered as being taken along the line l-l of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the shelf and front wall assembly embodying my invention which may be considered as being taken from the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows; and

2 be considered as being taken in the direction of the arrows from the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

In Fig. 1 the device embodying my invention is shown positioned in a showcase 8 having a back wall It) and front wall l2, one or both of which may be opened for the arrangement and removal of stock. Mounted on the back wall are vertical ladder-like strips I4 of well-known construction for mounting shelf brackets [6. The shelf brackets have downwardly extending hooks [8 which engage the cross members 20 of the strip l4 and a clamping screw 22 is arranged on the bracket 16 to be tightened against the intervening cross member 20 to lock the bracket securely in place. When mounted on the vertical strip l4 the bracket extends outwardly therefrom, affording an upper horizontal edge 26 upon which the shelf rests and a lower upwardly sloping edge 28 and terminates in a shelf retaining hook 30 at its outer end. This bracket is formed of relatively heavy sheet metal. Upon these brackets a horizontal glass shell 24 is placed upon which the merchandise is displayed.

The brackets for mounting the front panel 29 are shown in the drawings in three forms to carry a central part and the left and right-hand ends thereof. It will be understood that if the panel is to be composed of a single sheet, the use of the central bracket will be unnecessary.

Considering the central bracket 3| first, it is formed of sheet metal, preferably of a type which offers an attractive surface requiring a minimum of maintenance, such as stainless steel, aluminum, or the like. An elongated rectangular blank of this metal is provided which is perforated and then folded in a manner to be described hereafter. The finished bracket may be considered as being divided into a tongue por-' tion 34, a base portion 36, a panel encircling band 38 and an end portion 40, which portions are all defined by bending the rectangular blank. Although the above referred to perforations will preferably be formed in the blank before bending, they will be described as occurring in the above set out bracket portions to facilitate description and accurate location.

A slot 42 is formed in the tongue 34 adjacent the upper edge thereof which serves the purpose of encircling a portion of the bracket substantially inward of the hook 30. The bend which defines the tongue portion is made at a point in relation to upper end 43 of the slot such that the base 36 of the panel bracket 31 will rest fiat on the shelf bracket 16. The base portion 3 6 is perforated with a hole 44 at the end opposite to the end on which the tongue 34 is formed to receive the upwardly projecting end 45 of the hook 3d. The panel encircling band 38 is blanked out as at t? on either side to lighten the bracket and to permit greater visibility therethrough. Upon forming these apertures the panel bracket blank is then bent in such fashion that as the bracket is in position on the shelf bracket with the base portion 36 horizontal, the tongue portion 34 projects vertically downward from one end thereof, and the elongated band 38 is formed to project upward from the other end with the end portion 4% parallel with and close to the base 35. The end portion 40 is then secured to the base portion as at 8 by, for example, spot welding.

It will be evident that the length of the end portion 49 may be sufficient to cover completely the base portion 36 to furnish a level upper surface therefor. However, since the use of the central section will frequently be dependent upon a divided shelf, it is desirable that the panel bracket provide not only a level shelf support of substantial width-i. e., the base portion 53E-but also means to forestall. a lateral shifting of the shelf sections, thereby to prevent the shelf from falling off the brackets. In this event-that the central section isto be interposed between two lengths of glass shelf-the end portion 49 may be cut short as shown in the drawings, and to cover the remainder of the base portion two rectangular blanks 58 of the same sheet metal are provided. Each of these blanks 5E3 has one longitudinal edge 52 up turned, and they are arranged on the part of the base 36 not covered by the end 49 with their turned edges against each other to provide a longitudinal shoulder along the center line of the base portion against which the end of the shelf sections rest to prevent endwise or lateral movement thereof. These blanks 5B or shelf supports may likewise be secured by spot welding to the base portion, 7

On the under side of the base situated between the tongue 34 and the hook receiving hole 4 but more closely to the latter is a fork 54 which is formed of two small L-shaped members 56, each being spot welded on one arm 58 to the base and the projecting armsfif! being spaced apart a distance sufficient to straddle closely the shelf brack et i6 to insure a proper alignment between the shelf bracket l6 and thepanel bracket 3!,

The left 62 and right-hand '64 panel brackets are formed substantially similarly to the central bracket if. The blank of which they are formed is appreciably narrower than the blank of which the center bracket Si is formed, being on the order of one half its width. These end sections have a slotted tongue 34, a base portion 36 mounting a fork 54 having a hook receiving hole id formed therein, a panel encircling band 38, and an end portion 453 which may be spot welded to the base portion 3% just as is the case with the center bracket 3i. Likewise, the end portion 49 may be long enough to cover the base portion or an additional blank fit may be secured to the base portion inwardly of the end portion to afford more satisfactory suport for the shelf. The structure involving the additional blank may be employed if manufacturing advantage is found in using stock for all brackets whose Width is equal to the length of the center bracket blank such that no cutting of the bracket blanks to length is necessary. The distinction between these end portions and the central portion lies first in the narrowness of the bracket (about half that of thecenti'al bracket) and the absence of the band 4 apertures, the bands being sufficiently narrow and properly placed to preclude an undue obscuring of the showcase contents. Also, a different shoulder construction for preventing lateral movement of the shelf may be employed.

In use, as the shelf bracket is mounted in a showcase in the fashion described before, the panel bracket is placed on the shelf bracket by passing the slot 42 of the tongue 34 over the outer end 30 of the shelf bracket Hi to a point where the projecting end 46 of the hook end may be lodged in the hook receiving hole 44. The fork 54 at the same time straddles and embraces the shelf bracket i6. The mounted structure provides a stable and attractive rest for both the shelf and the panel without demanding expensive accuracy in the formation of the individual mounting elements. Thus, the slot 42 and hook receiving hole 4d provide an amply strong mount for a front panel 29 of substantial weight, and the forks 54. maintain the alignment of the panel brackets 13!, E2 and 64 with respect to their associated shelf brackets both against lateral dis-' placement and displacement from the horizontal.

After the placement of, for example, the three panel brackets 3!, 62 and 64 on the proper shelf brackets the panels 29, which are preferably of glass, are inserted into the bands. In the event that the three panel brackets are employed which, as was stated before, will usually occur when the panel 29 is divided, one panel section would be inserted between one end bracket 62 and the middie bracket 3! by springing the middle shelf bracket 31! toward the otherv end. of the case to admit the panel section end and then permitting its return to encircle that end. The other section of the panel will be inserted by placing one end thereof in the. band of the other end bracket, and the shelf bracket carrying the center bracket will be swung in the opposite direction to permit the location of the other end such that the return of the center bracket band will encircle it. After the insertion of the panel 29 in this fashion the shelves 24 may be placed upon the shelf brackets t5 and supporting portions 58 of the panel bra-ckets.

It is thus apparent from the above description that my invention adds greatly to the capacity of showcase shelves without impairing the visibility of their contents and accomplishes this function by an inexpensive, attractive, and easily mountable and demountable device.

Having thus described one exemplification of my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desire to. secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A combination shelf and front panel bracket,

upper edge of said shelf bracket providing shelf' supporting surfaces, a vertically slotted tongue depending from one end of said base, the outer extremity of the shelf bracket projecting through said slot, upstanding panel retaining means on the other end of said base, said base having a hook receiving hole formed therein on the center line thereof adjacent said panel retaining means, in which the upstanding hook endlodges,

and means forming a fork on the underside of said base embracing closely the sides of said shelf bracket.

2. A combination shelf and front panel bracket for a showcase comprising a generally right triangular shelf bracket adapted to be mounted on a wall of the showcase to project outwardly therefrom and having an upper horizontal shelfsupporting edge and a lower edge inclined to approach the upper edge at the outer extremity of the bracket, and a front panel bracket having a base resting on the upper edge of said shelf bracket, a vertically slotted tongue depending from one end of said base, the outer extremity of the shelf bracket projecting through said slot, upstanding panel retaining means on the other end of said base, and means forming a fork on the underside of said base outward of said tongue embracing closely the sides of said shelf bracket.

3. In combination with a shelf bracket adapted to be mounted on a wall of a showcase to project outwardly therefrom and having an upper, horizontal, shelf-supporting edge and a lower edge; a front panel bracket having a base adapted to rest on the upper edge of said shelf bracket, a vertically slotted tongue depending from one end of said base providing a surface engaging the lower edge of the shelf bracket inwardly of the outer end thereof, upstanding panel retaining means on the other end of said base, means on said base to align the panel retaining means with the outer end of the shelf bracket, and means on the base which, with the tongue, serve to retain the base in aligned relation on the upper edge of the shelf bracket.

4. As a showcase accessory, a front panel bracket for use with a shelf bracket adapted to be mounted on a wall of a showcase to project outwardly therefrom and having an upper horizontal shelf-supporting edge and a lower edge, comprising, a base adapted to rest on the upper edge of said shelf bracket, upstanding panel retaining means on one end of said base, means on said base spaced toward the other end thereof from said panel retaining means adapted to engage the lower edge of the shelf bracket, and means on said base spaced longitudinally from said lower edge engaging means adapted to maintain the base in alignment with the shelf bracket.

5. As a showcase accessory, a front panel bracket for use with a shelf bracket adapted to be mounted on a wall of a showcase to project outwardly therefrom and having an upper horizontal shelf-supporting edge and a lower edge,

comprising, a base adapted to rest on the upper edge of said shelf bracket, upstanding panel retaining means on one end of said base, means on said base spaced toward the other end thereof from said panel retaining means adapted to engage the lower edge of the shelf bracket, means on said base spaced longitudinally from said lower edge engaging means adapted to maintain the base in alignment with the shelf bracket, and means on said base to engage the shelf bracket to prevent longitudinal displacement of said base.

6. As a showcase accessory, a front panel bracket for use with a shelf bracket adapted to be mounted on a wall of a showcase to project outwardly therefrom and having an upper horizontal shelf-supporting edge and lower edge, the bracket terminating in an upstanding hook at its outer extremity; comprising a base adapted to rest on the upper edge of said shelf bracket, a vertically slotted tongue depending from one end of said base to engage the lower edge of the shelf bracket to prevent vertical angular displacement of said base, upstanding panel retaining means on the other end of said base, said base having a hook receiving hole formed therein adjacent said panel retaining means to receive the upstanding hook end to prevent longitudinal displacement of said base relative to the shelf bracket, and means forming a fork on the underside of said base to embrace the sides of said shelf bracket to prevent lateral displacement of the base.

JOSEPH ISAAC.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Denmark Oct. 17, 1935 

